He wants to be a big kid so bad!

Sam wants to be like the big kids. He insists on using adult silverware, sitting in a booster seat, and wearing a bicycle helmet while straddling Laura's old bike. His feet can't reach the petals yet, but that doesn't stop Sam. I admire his determination.
This picture was taken before Sam found a bicycle helmet to wear...He's a safety nut like his dad.

Game Show Clip

So I managed to get a clip of my game show experience off the Lets Ask America website. Enjoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrmnoGKvMYU

Walk to the Park



My cup runneth over

  

My Game Show Experience

As some of you know, I love game shows. In 2006 Heidi & I tried out for Deal or No Deal by standing in the Merle Hay Mall for three hours to record a 30 second audition tape. I like to credit those years of 4-H clothing selection interviews as Heidi and I were both selected to the next round of auditions. While auditioning the casting people loved my mom and even she auditioned for the show. The next thing we knew the show was cancelled and nobody in our family went to LA. I had a hunch the producers thought we were a little too frugal and would take the deal too early in the show...Which is probably accurate.

Fast forward 6 years.

This summer I got call from a Los Angeles saying there was going to be a new game show airing this fall called Lets Ask America http://www.letsaskamerica.tv/. After seeing my audition tape from Deal or No Deal, they asked that I audition for the show. What!?! The show was brand new, low budget, and cutting edge. All of the auditions and actually tapings of the show take place at your own home through Skype. To make a long story short, after several Skype interviews this summer, they picked me to be on the show!

The show taped on a Thursday in August and I took the whole day off to prep. I got my make-up done, studied up on the Kardashians, and then it was time to play. I was in front of my computer for 3 hours prepping and actually recording the show.

The show aired March 27th. I was promised a way to view the show since it doesn't air in Iowa, but my contact at Lets Ask America never came through. (Did I mention the show was low budget?) Lisa, a Kansas City friend, DVRed it for me, however I'm not really sure how to get a recording send to me from a DVR. Anyway here is my own transcript from what I remember from the August taping.  

The first question:

When we surveyed Florida residents, who did they say were the worst drivers?

A. Senior Citizens

B. Tourists

I chose tourists thinking that most people who live in Florida are senior citizens so they wouldn't vote for themselves. I was wrong.

Next question:

When we surveyed 15 year old girls who did they say was hotter?

A. Hunger Games guys

B. Olympic Athletes

I chose A as I saw our 15 year old babysitter reading the Hunger Game books. I was right!

The next question:

When we surveyed men in their 20's what would be the worst thing to hear their recently divorced mother say?

A. I'm pregnant

B. I'm moving in.

 

I chose A as many 20 year old men live at home anyway and move-ins are temporary but babies are forever. I was wrong and that eliminated me from the show :-(

It was a super fun experience, I'm glad I did it, and I still love game shows!

Spring Break!

Spring Break is here! On Friday afternoon we dropped the kids off with Grandma and Grandpa Schulz and stayed a couple of days in down town Chicago. We stayed at a fancy schmancy hotel down town and hit all the sights. It was so nice to not have to haul strollers, diaper bags, and a plethera of snacks with us like we usually do with the kids in tow.  However, any time we saw a family with young kids Eric and I couldn't help but stare and kind of miss our own. We managed to snap out of it and still had a wonderful time. We saw the infamous green river, Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade, went to Second City, ate a lot, drank a lot, and ended the trip with a Segway tour of the city. It was kind of like a little honeymoon. Laura and Sam seemed to have a good time with Grandma & Grandpa while we were away. I think Grandma captured every moment of their visit on her camera so we didn't miss a thing. ;-)

Chicago

Segway Tour-Eric and I were the only ones on the tour so we felt extra special. :-)

Sam being a daddy at Grandma's house

Someone's not happy that she has to take care of the baby while Sam mows the lawn sidewalk.

Grandma took Laura shopping. I swear they're made for each other.

Sam really loves eating.

Good ol' Grandpa, always taking one for the team.

Winter Weekend

It was just one of those weekends. Nothing too exciting happening. It was too cold and wet to go outside and with the flu going around, I wasn't too excited about playing at a mall. There is something about the weekends at home which make for some pretty fun memories though.

Laura got a Lemonade Stand for Christmas from Aunt Leigh and Uncle Louis Daschler. There's nothing like selling lemonade in the dead of winter.

Laura not only sells lemonade, she also performs tricks.

Don't be fooled. This activity lasted approximately, two minutes.

Sam's 1 year photo. I can almost feel his soft cheeks in this picture.

The Alphabet

We've decided it time to start working on the alphabet with Miss Laura. Each night after Sam goes to bed Laura and I do some sort of letter activity. For example, reading an anchor book, painting letters, hunting for letters, etc. Since Laura's name starts with a L that's where I decided to started. Tonight was our letter hunt day and she seemed to really get it. An hour after she went to bed, she called me up to her room. Laura exclaimed, "I found a lower case l!" Sure enough, love me is embroidered on her blankie. If she can identify the letter in the dark, I think she's got that one mastered. I'm so proud!